8JS-.I2- 


$rom  t 0e  feifirarg  of 

(professor  Wfftdm  differ  (J)d;rfon,  ©.©.,  ££.©. 

(presented  fit  Qtttte.  (parfon 

to  f  0e  &i6rarg  of 

(princefon  tjeofogicaf  ^emindtg 

.  LTl 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


MAY  2  4  2005 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOcoxe 


AN  ADDRESS, 


IN   THE   CHURCH   AT    PRINCETON, 


THE   EVENING  BEFORE  THE 


ANNUAL  COMMENCEMENT 


COLLEGE  OF   NEW  JERSEY, 


SEPTEMBER  34,   1833. 


v^ — 

BY  RICHARD  S.  COXE,  Esq.. 


PUBLISHED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  AMERICAN  WHIG  AND 
CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETIES. 


PRINCETON: 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  SOCIETIES,  BY  BAKER  AND  CONNOLLY. 

1833. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE   MINUTES    OF    THE    CLIOSOPHIC  SOCI- 
ETY, AT  ITS   ANNUAL   MEETING,  SEPT.  25,    1833. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  present  to  Richard  S. 
Coxe,  Esq.,  the  thanks  of  this  Society,  for  the  able  and  eloquent 
address,  delivered  by  him  on  Tuesday  the 24th  instant;  and  to  request 
a  copy  for  publication. 

SAMUEL  R.  HAMILTON,  Esq.,  ) 

Prof.  ALBERT  B.  DOD,  }  Committee. 

DAVID  N.  BOGART,  Esq.,  ) 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  WHIG 
SOCIETY,  AT  ITS  ANNUAL  MEETING,  SEPT.  25,  1833. 
Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  present  to  Richard 
S.  Coxe,  Esq.,  the  respectful  acknowledgments  of  the  American 
Whig  Society,  for  the  able  and  eloquent  address,  delivered  by  him 
on  the  24th  instant;  and  to  request  him  to  furnish  this  Society  with 
a  copy  for  publication. 

WILLIAM  C.  ALEXANDER,  Esq.,  } 

Prof.  JOSEPH  HENRY,  >  Committee. 

Mr.  LEWIS  P.  W.  BALCH,  S 


AN    ADDRESS. 


When  after  the  lapse  of  years,  we  revisit  the  scenes  of 
our  youth,  endeared  to  our  affections  by  a  thousand  attracting 
associations,  memory  awakens  all  the  circumstances  which 
gave  interest  and  animation  to  that  delightful  period  of  life. 
Our  former  companions  live  again  in  our  recollections:  the 
objects  which  we  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  with 
veneration  and  respect,  once  more  reappear  to  claim  our 
homage,  and  the  interval  of  time  which  has  elapsed  since  our 
separation,  seems  like  a  fleeting-  shadow  or  a  summer's  dream. 

To  one  who  was  accustomed  a  quarter  of  a  century  since 
to  tread  the  paths  of  Nassau  Hall,  to  roam  through  the  adja- 
cent woods  and  vallies,  to  trace  out  the  historical  and  classical 
incidents  with  wThich  they  are  associated,  and  to  invest  the 
whole  with  those  attractions  which  individual  feelino-  and 
an  intimate  connexion  with  his  personal  friendships  and 
imaginative  aspirations  must  lend  the  scene,  this  place  cannot 
but  be  rich  in  interesting  recollections.  With  scarcely  an 
exertion  of  the  fancy  he  may  transport  himself  back  to  former 
days.  He  may  retrace  his  favorite  haunts.  He  may  almost 
expect  at  every  turn  to  encounter  some  companion  of  his 


hours  of  study  or  of  relaxation,  or  the  venerable  instructor, 
from  whose  lips  he  has  derived  lessons  of  virtue  as  well  as 
scientific  improvement.  These  objects  of  his  reverence  and 
affection,  are  no  more  to  meet  his  eye :  the  illusion  is 
dissolved. 

Hactenus  annorum  comites  meorum 
Et  memini  et  memioisse  juvat. 

The  dignified  preceptor  by  whom  he  had  been  taught 
to  revere  virtue  in  her  mildest  form ;  who  blended  the 
refinements  of  literature  and  the  accomplishments  of  science 
with  the  bland  attractions  of  personal  manner  and  parental 
kindness,  has  departed.  Those  with  whom  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  mingle  in  his  studies,  and  in  the  amusements 
of  the  day,  are  dispersed  or  dead.  All  that  surrounds  him  is 
new.  Nought  remains  to  mark  the  spot,  save  the  impress  of 
nature's  hand,  and  the  solid  and  substantial  edifices,  whose 
strength  remains  unimpaired  by  time. 

The  train  of  thought  thus  awakened,  however  full  of 
melancholy,  may  be  nevertheless  salutary  and  beneficial.  It 
is  useful  occasionally  to  withdraw  our  minds  from  scenes  of 
present  and  absorbing  interest ;  to  view  things  divested  of  the 
false  and  delusive  glare  which  clothes  the  objects  that  surround 
us ;  to  revert  to  former  days  and  to  compare  the  anticipations 
of  youth  with  the  realities  of  a  more  mature  age.  It  is  the 
dictate  of  wisdom  to  review7  our  past  progress — to  examine 
the  shoals  which  endangered  our  career — the  rocks  which 
menaced  us  with  ruin — and  to  revere  the  skilful  hand  which 
directed  our  footsteps  through  the  dangerous  passages  of  life, 
and  preserved  us  from  that  destruction  by  which  we  might 
otherwise  have  been  overwhelmed.     It  is  beneficial  to  test 


(.he  judgments  which  we  formerly  passed  upon  men  and 
things;  by  those  which  a  more  enlarged  experience  has  ena- 
bled us  to  form,  and  thus  to  draw  lessons  of  wisdom  even 
from  the  errors  and  inexperience  of  our  youth. 

It  was  within  the  precincts  of  a  College  that  we  formed  our 
earliest  acquaintance  with  man  :  that  we  learned,  however 
imperfectly,  to  search  beneath  the  surface  of  his  conduct  and 
his  language,  and  to  explore  the  hidden  motives  by  which 
he  was  governed.  It  was  here  that  we  first  saw  in  their 
incipient  stages  of  developement,  the  exhibition  of  those  virtues 
and  those  talents  which  have  since  manifested  themselves  in 
a  more  vigorous  growth  and  upon  a  more  extended  theatre. 
How  rarely  has  it  happened  that  we  have  been  disappointed 
in  our  youthful  associates.  The  fond  hopes  in  which  parents 
have  indulged,  may  never  be  realized  ;  the  imperfect  views 
which  preceptors  have  formed,  may  prove  inaccurate;  but  it  is 
seldom  that  in  the  progress  of  life  our  early  companions  have 
risen  much  above  or  been  depressed  much  below  our  antici- 
pations. The  great  outlines  of  individual  character — the 
prominent  features  which  distinguish  it  from  others,  begin  to 
display  themselves  at  an  early  period  of  life,  and  they  do  not 
commonly  elude  the  observation  of  those  who  hourly  mingle 
in  all  the  scenes  calculated  to  develope  them.  The  manly 
and  honorable  youth  becomes  the  elevated  and  honorable 
man.  He  who  was  in  early  life  attracted  by  the  charms  of 
science  and  of  literature,  has  found  his  enjoyments  augment 
with  the  expansion  of  Iris  mind.  The  warm  and  zealous 
friend  may  still  be  seen  the  object  of  affectionate  solicitude, 
though  years  may  have  found  him  surrounded  by  new 
connexions  and  by  other  ties  of  endearment.      The  active 


8 

enterprise  and  contempt  of  clanger  which  we  admired  amid 
our  sports,  have  since  been  exhibited  in  the  martial  combat. 
The.  lofty  aspiration  after  fame,  and  the  generous  devotion  to 
country  which  have  raised  our  admiration  in  after  life,  germi- 
nated and  struck  root  within  the  walls  of  a  College.  The 
progress  of  time  has  rather  changed  in  degree,  than  varied  in 
character— rather  modified  than  essentially  altered,  either  the 
qualities  of  the  heart  or  the  faculties  of  the  mind. 

In  the  particular  course  of  our  lives,  the  hopes  of  youth 
are  more  rarely  realized  :  the  anticipations  of  the  future 
will  seldom  be  found  to  harmonize  with  actual  experience. 
Buoyed  up  by  a  youthful  fancy — animated  by  an  ardent 
imagination— we  look  forward  upon  the  busy  scenes  of  life 
which  we  are  pressing  to  enter,  with  the  most  sanguine  feel- 
ings. All  its  asperities  and  its  irregularities— its  abrupt 
acclivities — its  rugged  precipices  are  concealed  or  softened  and 
melted  down,  when  viewed  through  the  flattering  medium 
which  hope  presents  to  our  eyes.  The  imagination  throws  a 
mellowing  mist  over  all  the  roughnesses  of  the  road,  and  we 
see  in  the  perspective  but  a  smooth  and  easy  ascent  to  the 
pinnacle  of  our  wishes.  Many  of  these  beautiful  illusions 
vanish  upon  a  nearer  approach.  The  soft  blue  with  which 
our  hopes  had  tinged  the  horizon  of  life,  rounding  into 
graceful  curves  its  distant  outline,  is  too  frequently  exchanged 
for  the  blackness  of  inaccessible  precipices  and  the  dark 
horrors  of  a  stern  reality.  Arduous  struggles  await  us  where 
we  had  looked  for  an  easy  progress— bitter  enmities  where 
we  had  anticipated  tender  attachment— rude  repulses  have 
been  our  portion  where  wc  had  hoped  for  invitations  of  kind- 
ness, and  envy  and  calumny  have  shed  their  bitterest  vials 


upon  our  heads  where  we  had  expected  friendly  encourage- 
ment and  cordial  sympathy.  The  friends  of  our  youth 
become  estranged  or  separated,  or  disappear  from  our  view, 
before  time  had  hardened  the  affections  of  either,  like  bubbles 
upon  the  passing  stream  :  parents,  whose  hearts  we  had 
hoped  to  gladden  and  to  remunerate  for  their  labors  of  love, 
have  sunk  into  the  tomb  ere  our  duty  was  half  performed  ; 
and  when  we  have  reached  the  meridian  of  life,  we  find 
few  remain  of  all  who,  we  had  cherished  the  expectation, 
would  have  cheered  us  by  their  smiles  of  encouragement, 
rewarded  us  by  their  approbation,  or  soothed  the  anguish  of 
disappointment. 

Even  these  mournful  ideas  may  be  rich  in  improvement 
and  consolation.  The  past  is  not  altogether  a  gloomy  barren, 
nor  have  the  bright  beams  which  gilded  the  future,  been 
wholly  extinguished.  When  I  he  mind  has  been  properly 
disciplined,  an  ample  reward  is  furnished  for  the  most, 
arduous  labor,  and  for  a  life  of  devoted  privation,  in  the  con- 
soling reflection  that  a  solemn  duty  has  been  discharged. 
The  individual  who  has  not  fettered  himself  in  the  galling 
chains  of  an  entire  selfishness,  looks  abroad  for  his  highest 
gratifications.  He  perceives  himself  surrounded  by  human 
beings  possessed  of  powers  and  faculties  similar  to  his  own  ; 
and  in  the  alleviation  of  their  miseries,  and  the  addition 
which  he  finds  himself  able  to  make  to  their  happiness, 
discovers  new  sources  of  exhaustless  felicity.  Regarding  his 
country  as  the  scene  of  all  his  enjoyments— as  holding  within 
her  bosom  all  that  is  and  has  been  dear  to  him — he  considers 
himself  as  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  obligations,  the  force 
of  which  he  freely  acknowledges,  when  he  contributes  his 


10 

exertions  to  the  enlargement  of  her  permanent  and  substan- 
tial good.  Taught  to  aspire  from  the  nothingness  of  the 
transient  scenes  around  him,  to  the  infinitely  superior  attrac- 
tions of  another  and  a  better  world,  his  feelings  of  philan- 
thropy are  submitted  to  a  pure  guidance,  and  gratitude  to  God 
stimulates  him  to  renewed  efforts  to  promote  the  happiness  of 
man.  The  heart  and  the  understanding  are  thus  purified 
and  strengthened,  exalted  and  enlarged.  He  learns,  not 
indeed,  that  happiness  is  a  phantom  which  eludes  the  grasp, 
but  that  the  road  which  leads  to  it  may  be  mistaken.  He  is 
taught  that  while  some  objects  of  affection  are  unduly  appre- 
ciated, the  eye  is  ignorantly  closed  to  the  sources  of  the 
highest  and  purest  enjoyment. 

We  have  pictured  to  ourselves  a  valley  of  happiness,  similar 
to  that  which  was  presented  to  the  view  of  the  youthful  Ras- 
selas,  where  perpetual  spring:  was  to  gratify  our  senses  with 
a  succession  of  delightful  odours,  and  where  streams  were  to 
roll  on  their  silvery  waters,  unruffled  by  storms  or  tempests. 
We  thought  u  the  noiseless  foot  of  time"  would  "  only  tread 
on  flowers."  If  we  have  learned  wisdom  from  experience, 
we  have  been  taught  that  the  ever  active  mind  of  man  would 
have  become  attenuated  and  enfeebled  in  such  a  state  of 
existence.  We  have  discovered  that  we  are  made  for  exer- 
tion, and  that  in  the  vigorous  application  of  his  powers, 
moral  and  intellectual,  man  attains  the  most  exalted  hap- 
piness, and  best  performs  the  duties  of  his  being. 

The  constitution  of  his  nature  has  imposed  upon  him  the 
necessity  for  continued  action.  This  paramount  law  of  his 
being,  he  can  neither  elude  nor  violate.  No  matter  in  what 
clime  his  lot  may  have  been  cast — no  matter  whether  fortune 


11 

may  have  smiled  or  frowned  upon  his  birth — no  matter  how 
the  adventitious  distinctions  of  rank  may  have  elevated  or 
depressed  him  in  society — whether  a  monarch  or  a  peasant — 
a  freeman  or  a  slave — his  life  is  not  one  of  listless  inactivity. 
Indolence  would  poison  every  source  of  enjoyment,  and  would 
invest  with  still  darker  gloom  the  storms  of  adverse  fate. 
Active  exertion  gives  a  zest  to  life — augments  its  pleasures 
— mitigates  its  calamities.  Virtue  cannot  exist,  deprived  of 
its  firm  support,  and  vice  loses  all  those  qualities  which  rescue 
it  from  contempt  when  it  sinks  into  the  languor  of  repose. 

It  becomes  then  a  matter  of  infinite  moment,  that  this 
disposition  to  activity  should  assume  a  rational  and  proper 
direction.  Hence  arise  the  advantages  of  education.  This 
is  the  basis  upon  which  must  rest  all  those  institutions  which 
adorn  our  land  ;  reared  for  the  purposes  of  instruction,  and 
dedicated  to  the  advancement  of  youth.  Surrounded  as  we 
are  in  this  place,  by  the  memorials  and  the  fruits  of  science 
and  of  literature,  we  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  advantages 
of  early  education.  If  we  look  around  us  and  survey  the 
present  situation,  or  the  past  history  of  our  country,  we 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  a  large 
proportion  of  that  talent  which  adorns  it — that  science  which 
illustrates  it — and  that  virtue  which  beautifies  it— drew  their 
first  nourishment  within  the  walls  of  our  various  seminaries 
of  learning.  Should  we  extend  our  view  into  the  more 
retired  scenes  of  domestic  life — contemplate  the  familiar  inter- 
course of  society — explore  the  haunts  of  vice — we  shall  again 
perceive  to  how  large  an  extent  individual  and  social  happi- 
ness is  connected  with  early  instruction,  and  how  much  of 
that  which  debases  and  degrades  the  individual,  and  contami- 


12 

nate9  the  society  of  which  he  forms  a  part,  may  be  traced  to 
a  total  destitution  or  an  erroneous  system  of  youthful  educa- 
tion. Trained  with  care  and  under  the  guidance  of  virtue, 
the  native  powers  of  man  will  expand  into  a  vigorous  growth, 
and  pioduce  a  splendid  harvest  of  usefulness  and  beneficence  : 
allowed  to  pursue  their  own  career,  or  deflected  from  the 
straight  course  by  false  and  erroneous  systems,  the  virulence  of 
their  poison  augments  with  their  increase  in  stature,  and  they 
spread  desolation  as  wide  as  their  pernicious  shades  extend. 

The  individual  who  regards  the  gratification  of  his  own 
ambitious  aspirations,  as  the  end  and  object  of  his  existence, 
may  learn  from  the  history  of  the  world,  that  the  most 
conspicuous  niches  in  the  temple  of  fame  have  been  reserved 
for  those,  who  have  most  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
genius  and  skill  in  intellectual  pursuits,  and  by  their  efforts 
to  promote  the  substantial  benefit  of  man.  The  heroes  and 
demi-gods  of  the  corrupt  mythology  of  the  ancients,  owed 
their  elevation  as  much  to  the  beneficent  objects  of  their 
achievements,  as  to  the  prowess  and  valor  with  which  they 
were  conducted.  Although  history  is  too  generally  a  mere 
narrative  of  crimes  and  miseries,  and  particularly  in  ancient 
times,  rarely  dwells  with  much  complacency  upon  the  slate 
of  society,  or  the  progress  of  literature  : — though  the  melody 
of  the  poet  is  hushed  by  the  din  of  arms,  and  the  pursuits 
which  promote  the  happiness  of  the  species,  yield  to  those 
which  minister  to  their  destruction,  yet  it  is  the  poet  and  the 
historian — the  sculptor  and  the  painter,  who  have  given  to 
the  conqueror  and  the  hero  all  of  the  life  which  they  enjoy 
in  after  ages.  The  memorials  which  they  themselves  have 
created,  are  the   solitude   and    the   desert— the  waitings  of 


is 

afflicted  humanity,  and  the  bitter  tears  of  bereavement. 
Notwithstanding  that  the  love  of  excitement  is  the  master 
spring  of  human  action — that  the  fury  of  the  storm  abstracts 
our  minds  from  the  placid  serenity  of  nature  in  her  milder 
moods ; — that  "  the  earthquake  shout  of  victory — the  rapture 
of  the  strife,"  seem  more  congenial  to  the  heart  of  man,  than 

" the  olive  grove  of  Academe, — 

Plato's  retirement, — where  the  attic  bird 

Trills  her  thick-warbled  notes  the  summer  long" — 

there  is  nevertheless  an  antagonist  principle  at  work  which 
furnishes  a  palliative,  if  not  a  cure  for  this  morbid  propensity. 
The  earliest  settlements  of  Greece  were  planted  upon  a 
barbarous  and  hostile  shore.  Her  infant  feebleness  was 
forced  into  contests  upon  which  her  precarious  existence  hung. 
Her  struggles  increased  with  her  years,  and  the  whole  period 
of  her  glorious  career  was  an  unbroken  succession  of  foreign 
and  domestic  conflicts.  Yet,  though  trained  amid  scenes 
where  the  art  of  war  became  the  first  among  the  necessary 
avocations  of  her  sons. 

"Unto  us  she  hath  a  spell,  beyond 
Her  name  in  story." 
It  was  in  her  prolific  soil  that  the  seeds  were  sown  which 
expanded  into  such  glorious  fruits  of  genius  and  philosophy. 
The  fame  of  her  Homer  is  the  brighest  ornament  in  the 
chaplet  of  her  renown.  Her  orators,  poets,  historians  and 
philosophers,  blend  themselves  with  our  recollections  of  the 
past,  and  give  a  color  to  our  anticipations  of  the  future.  The 
eloquence  of  Demosthenes  has  diffused  his  name  more  widely 
than  that  of  Philip,  and  Aristotle  achieved  a  more  extensive 
conquest,  and  built  up  a  more  permanent  empire,  than  was 


14 

won  by  his  illustrious  pupil.  The  names  of  Marathon  and 
Thermopylae,  may  sometimes  kindle  our  imaginations,  but 
the  perusal  of  her  literature  and  her  science,  improves  the 
taste,  expands  the  intellect,  and  multiplies  and  heightens 
our  enjoyments.  The  glory  of  Greece  exists  only  in  the 
written  memorials  of  her  genius. 

In  ancient  Rome,  peculiarly  and  emphatically  warlike, 
cradled  in  armor  and  nurtured  with  blood,  the  same  indica- 
tions are  visible.  Cicero,  Livy,  Virgil  and  Horace,  have 
obscured  the  glory  of  Camillus,  of  Scipio,  and  almost  of  the 
Csesars.  The  influence  of  Roman  literature  is  felt  wherever 
letters  are  known.  But  the  Imperial  City  enjoys  a  supremacy 
of  an  analogous  kind,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
singular  monuments  of  the  paramount  importance  of  mind. 
Her  code  of  laws,  a  stupendous  production  of  intellect,  has 
exercised  a  sway  more  extensive  than  her  arms.  Its  power 
is  recognized  thoughout  empires  where  the  eagle  of  her 
legions  was  never  displayed,  even  in  the  palmy  days  of  her 
prosperity,  when  historic  truth  might  almost  have  employed 
the  poets  boast, 

Romanse  spatium  est  urbis  et  orbis  idem. 

Its  influence  has  been  expanding  during  those  centuries 
which  have  witnessed  the  humiliating  submission  of  Rome 
herself  to  the  ferocious  Alaric  and  the  modern  Hun.  Its 
dominion  is  not  only  still  controlling  in  the  larger  portion  of 
Europe,  but  this  judicial  polity  is  engrafted  upon  our  own  free 
institutions,  and  serves  as  the  basis  of  every  code  throughout 
our  Southern  continent.  An  empire  more  extensive  and 
durable,  an  influence  more  expanded  and  more  beneficial, 
than  has  ever  been  achieved  by  merely  human  power. 


15 

Throughout  modern  Europe,  similar  results  have  been 
developed.  All  have  learned  the  names  of  Spenser  and  of 
Shakspeare — of  Milton  and  of  Bacon — of  Newton  and  of 
Locke — while  the  glory  of  their  military  contemporaries  is 
already  shorn  of  its  beams.  Pope  and  Dryden,  Racine  and 
Voltaire,  are  familiar  to  our  ears  as  household  words ;  while 
Marlborough  and  Eugene,  Conde  and  Turenne,  are  heard 
only  at  intervals.  The  family  of  Medici,  Dante,  Petrarch, 
Tasso  and  Ariosto,  are  still  brilliant  luminaries  in  the  constel- 
lation of  literature,  while  the  gallant  warriors  of  the  day  have 
fallen  like  evanescent  meteors  upon  the  dead  pall  of  night. 

All  experience  tends  to  the  establishment  of  the  truth,  that 
national  glory  is  more  signally  illustrated,  and  personal  fame 
more  durably  fixed,  upon  the  firm  basis  of  literary  and  scien- 
tific achievements,  than  upon  the  most  splendid  feats  in 
arms.  As  man  improves  in  intelligence,  such  must  continue 
to  be  the  case.  The  fame  of  the  poet  the  orator  and  the 
philosopher,  will  expand  with  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and 
become  more  conspicuous  as  letters  become  more  highly 
esteemed.  Every  augmentation  of  the  empire  of  mind  must 
enlarge  the  foundations  upon  which  it  rests. 

To  the  mere  aspirant  after  worldly  distinctions — to  him 
who  has  no  higher  ambition  or  more  glorious  hope  than  that 
of  securing  to  himself  an  honorable  existence  in  history — this 
is  the  field  in  which  he  may  most  securely  calculate  upon  a 
rich  harvest  of  renown.  Should  he  enlarge  his  views  beyond 
the  circumscribed  horizon  of  personal  and  selfish  interests: — 
should  he  feel  stimulated  by  an  ardent  desire  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  his  fellow-men: — should  he  be  animated  by  a 
loftv  and  inextinguishable  zeal  to  advance  the  best  interests 


16 

of  the  country,  which  ranks  him  among  her  sons,  he  will 
find  all  these  excitements  to  action—  all  these  rewards  for 
exertion  in  promoting  the  progress  of  science.  An  enlarged 
political  wisdom  will  teach  him  that  the  career  of  national 
prosperity  and  individual  happiness  is  accelerated  by  such 
auxiliaries.  War  is  sometimes,  in  the  mysterious  wisdom 
of  Providence,  a  necessary  means  of  dissipating  the  sluggish 
malaria  of  despotic  encroachment,  and  of  purifying  the 
atmosphere  of  liberty  ;  but  like  the  magnificent  agents  of  the 
natural  world,  which  perform  analogous  functions,  it  is  itself 
replete  with  horrors.  War  has  no  creative  faculties — all  its 
tendencies  are  destructive. 

The  understandings  of  men  are  becoming  enlightened  on 
this  subject.  Within  a  few  years  past  indications  of  a  more 
healthy  state  of  the  public  intelligence  have  exhibited  them- 
selves. The  mind  of  man  is  throwing  off  the  fetters  in 
which  it  had  long  been  bound.  Nation  is  carrying  on  with 
nation,  and  individual  with  individual,  the  glorious  contest 
and  striving  for  victory  in  arts  and  science.  Literature,  no 
longer  confined  within  her  accustomed  channels,  limiting  her 
influences  to  a  compartively  kw,  has  risen,  until  elevated 
above  the  mounds  and  embankments  which  had  restrained 
her  career,  she  has  spread  her  fertilizing  waters  over  a  wide 
expanse.  Her  course  is  marked  with  a  new  and  luxuriant 
vegetation.  The  elements  of  education  are  diffused  through- 
out the  land,  and  are  understood  in  every  hamlet.  Who 
can  contemplate  the  present  aspect  of  the  world  without 
amazement,  and  who  is  gifted  with  the  prophetic  spirit  which 
can  look  into  the  womb  of  time  and  measure  the  results 
which  are  to  be  developed? 


1? 

The  intellects  of  the  ablest  and  wisest  men  have  been 
roused  by  this  new  attitude  of  things.  In  delineating  the 
effects  already  exhibited,  and  the  causes  which  have  produced 
them,  they  are  preparing  the  way  for  still  grander  improve- 
ments. A  potent  engine  whose  unknown  energies  had  been 
for  centuries  quiescent,  has  been  set  in  motion  ;  millions  of 
minds,  emancipated  from  their  accustomed  restraints,  are 
moving  as  by  one  mighty  impulse,  and  pressing  forward  in 
this  novel  and  interesting  career. 

In  what  is  all  this  to  terminate?  Who  can  dare  to  fix 
limits  to  this  glorious  change  1  If  so  much  has  been 
accomplished  in  days  that  have  gone  by,  when  education 
was  confined  to  a  favored  few — when  nurseries  of  intellect 
were  scattered  at  remote  distances,  throughout  even  the  most 
intelligent  portion  of  the  world,  like  beacons  upon  a  dark  and 
barren  coast,  making  the  general  obscurity  still  more  palpable 
— when  the  press  was  unknown,  or  fettered  by  every  manacle 
which  could  shackle  its  energies — when  masses  of  force  were 
employed  by  despotic  and  feudal  tyranny,  to  stifle  every 
impulse,  and  to  check  every  movement — what  results  may 
not  be  anticipated  when  this  elastic  power,  no  longer  pent  up 
by  artificial  restraints,  is  set  free  to  act,  with  the  whole  universe 
as  the  field  of  its  operations,  and  the  unrepressed  energy  of 
man,  the  force  which  impels  the  mighty  machine.  May  the 
Being  who  has  created  it,  preside  over  and  control  its  motions, 
and  give  them  a  direction  favorable  to  the  improvement  of 
the  human  race,  equally  in  virtue  and  in  intelligence. 

The  claims  which  are  presented  by  the  present  position  of 
the  world,  upon  individual  exertion,  are  not  more  obvious 
than  the  facilities  which  are  furnished  for  the  discharge  of 


18 

these  high  obligations.    One  of  the  most  signal  characteristics 
of  modern  times,  is  exhibited  in  the  enlargement  of  the  objects 
of  intellectual   pursuit.     New  fields  have  been  opened  for 
philosophical  inquiry,  while  the  old    ones  continue   to  be 
cultivated  with  zeal  and  success.     All  that  is  valuable  in  the 
science  and  learning  of  former  days,  has  been  preserved  and 
improved,   while    new   regions   have  been   discovered   and 
explored  by  the   enterprising  modern.     Classical  literature, 
more    particularly    in    the    oriental   department,    has   been 
amply  illustrated  by  the  indefatigable  scholars  of  the  last  half 
century;  and  Germany,  England  and  France,  have  sustained 
their  well-earned    reputation.     Mathematical  pursuits  have 
been  encouraged  by  new  impulses.   The  tremendous  conflicts 
in  which  nations  have  been  engaged,  have  carried,  to  a 
high  degree  of  perfection,  the  science  of  war  with  which 
the  mathematics  are  nearly  connected.     The  extension  of 
commerce,   and    the    excitement   of  rival  enterprise,   have 
pushed  forward,  with  equal  vigor,  the  art  of  navigation,  and 
the  auxiliary  departments  of  learning  ;    while  the  strenuous 
exertions  which  have  been  made  to  explore  and  to  develope 
the  internal  resources  of  different  nations,  by  the  instrumen- 
tality of  schemes  of  inland  communication,  have,  in  another 
field,  furnished  an  equal  stimulant  and  reward  for  a  similar 
description  of  talent.     In  no  former  period  of  the  world  has 
the  science  of  engineering— as  well  civil  as  military— approxi- 
mated so  nearly  to  perfection,  and  in  none  have  the  practical 
manifestations  of  its  utility  been  so  distinctly  exhibited.     In 
the  loftier  branches  of  the  mathematics,  allusion  need  only  be 
made  to  the  names  of  La  Place  and  Bowditch,  as  proof 
that  Newton  and  Euler  have  left  no  vacuum  behind  them. 


19 

Perhaps  in  nothing  has  this  modern  developement  of  talent 
been  more  strikingly  exhibited  than  in  the  improvements 
which  have  occurred  in  practical  mechanics.  Your  attention 
need  not  be  particularly  pointed  to  the  almost  infinite  variety 
of  useful  inventions  which  may  be  found  in  every  dwelling, 
and  in  every  scene  of  manual  labor,  and  which  are  treasured 
up  in  the  public  repositories  of  the  evidences  of  modern 
ingenuity.  The  perfection  to  which  labor-saving  machinery 
has  been  brought,  the  innumerable  objects  to  which  it  is 
applied,  and  the  almost  incredible  effects  which  it  has  accom. 
plished,  can  be  only  thus  briefly  noticed.  The  improvement, 
and  virtually  the  invention,  of  the  steam  engine,  is  the  work 
of  recent  years,  and  its  powerful  as  well  as  its  minute  efficiency 
constitutes  the  period  of  its  introduction  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  It  would  almost  seem  to  have  afforded 
to  man  an  instrument  by  which  to  move  the  globe,  while  it 
enables  him  to  execute  the  most  complex  operations  with  the 
smallest  atoms.  By  it,  his  physical  power  has  been  augmented 
to  an  incalculable  extent,  while  it  has  equally  contributed  to 
increase  and  to  disseminate  comfort  and  intelligence. 

Never  before  did  the  members  of  the  learned  professions,  as 
they  have  been  termed,  though  the  grounds  of  this  distinction 
have  ceased  to  exist,  stand  more  eminently  distinguished  for  the 
variety  and  extent  of  their  acquirements.  The  most  valu- 
able commentaries  upon  the  scriptures — the  illustrations  of 
their  meaning,  which  have  been  sought  and  discovered  in  the 
history  and  antiquities  of  the  Eastern  nations; — the  powerful 
aid,  which  has  been  derived  from  profane  literature  and  the 
improvements  in  science,  to  enforce  and  establish  their  divine 
origin — the  fidelity  of  their  narratives,  and  the  fulfilment  of 


20 

their  prophecies,  have  exhibited  the  modern  defenders  of  the 
faith  in  high  relief.  During  the  same  period  the  medical  pro- 
fession has  been  illustrated  by  some  of  the  most  brilliant  names 
which  its  entire  history  presents;  and  it  never  occupied  a  higher 
rank  than  it  now  holds,  either  for  the  variety  or  the  profundity 
of  the  acquirements  by  which  its  members  have  long  been 
eminently  conspicuous.  Many  circumstances  have  combined 
to  elevate  the  profession  of  the  law  in  a  proportionate  degree. 
The  convulsions  which  have  shaken  the  civilized  world  to  its 
centre — the  rise  and  fall  of  states — the  disruption  of  those  ties 
which  formerly  held  nations  under  some  degree  of  restraint — 
the  character  of  the  measures  adopted  for  the  enforcement  of 
belligerent  claims,  and  for  the  ascertainment  and  vindication 
of  neutral  rights,  have  tasked  all  the  learning  and  intellect  of 
the  bar  and  the  bench,  as  well  as  of  practical  statesmen,  to  a 
wider  and  deeper  inquiry  into  the  origin,  the  foundations, 
and  the  principles  of  international  law,  than  any  previous 
period  in  the  history  of  man  required.  The  vast  extension 
of  commerce,  the  infinite  variety  of  contracts  and  the  multi- 
farious connexions  to  which  it  has  given  birth,  have  furnished 
the  occasion,  as  well  as  prescribed  the  necessity  for  giving  a 
scientific  and  systematic  form  to  that  large  and  important 
branch  of  the  law  which  relates  to  these  complex  subjects. 
Independently  of  these  circumstances,  the  strengthening  of 
the  connexion  between  the  different  departments  of  govern- 
ment, though  administered  by  various  hands  ;  the  wide  field 
which  has  been  opened  under  free  and  liberal  institutions, 
more  especially  our  own,  for  the  discussion  of  questions 
growing  out  of  those  constitutions  upon  which  depend  the 
political  organization  of  states,  have  caused  a  more  thorough 


21 

investigation  to  be  made  into  the  foundations  of  civil  society, 
the  fundamental  laws  of  government,  and  the  relative  rights 
and  duties  of  the  people,  and  those  by  whom  their  affairs  are 
administered,  than  man  ever  before  felt  inclined,  or  indeed 
was  permitted  to  make.  It  would  not  perhaps  be  going  too 
far  to  affirm,  that  the  laws  of  American  jurists  have  already 
contributed  more  to  illustrate  the  subjects  to  which  reference 
has  just  been  made,  and  to  establish  them  upon  a  solid  and 
substantial  basis,  than  the  combined  exertions  of  all  the 
writers  of  antiquity. 

Should  we  extend  our  view  to  what  are  usually  denomi- 
nated the  fields  of  lighter  literature,  we  cannot  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  manifestations  of  modern  intellect.  Since 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  this  department 
has  been  embellished  by  an  Edgeworth,  a  Scott,  our  own 
Irving  and  Cooper;  while  Byron,  rivalling  Dante  in  his 
mysterious  sublimity,  despite  his  profligacy  and  his  crimes, 
has  stamped  with  his  enduring  name  the  poetic  age  in  which 
he  flourished. 

Independently  of  these  objects  of  intellectual  pursuit, 
which  have  for  ages  attracted  their  respective  votaries, 
there  are  other  fields  for  the  exercise  of  mind  which  may 
almost  literally  be  said  to  have  been  discovered  within  the 
brief  period  of  a  century.  Linnaeus  may  well  be  termed  the 
father  of  botany,  as  it  is  now  understood.  Scarcely  one 
hundred  years  have  elapsed  since  his  name  was  first  faintly 
heard  in  a  narrow  part  of  his  native  land,  and  already 
botany  has  assumed  an  equal  station  among  the  sciences. 
Hundreds  of  enterprising  and  untiring  followers  are  now 
scattered  over  the  world,  exploring  every  desert,  every  moun- 


22 

tain,  and  every  rivulet  between  the  poles,  and  furnishing 
their  contributions  to  increase  the  enjoyments  of  the  lover  of 
nature,  and  to  minister  to  the  necessities,  the  comfort  and  the 
luxury  of  man.  Natural  history  has  attracted  her  proportion 
of  votaries,  and  is  improving  in  an  equal  ratio.  Chemistry, 
drawing  its  origin  from  the  crude  and  irrational  pursuits  of 
the  deceived  and  deceiving  alchymist,  has  attained  an  equal 
elevation.  Her  influences  are  felt  in  the  improvements  of 
agriculture  and  the  arts,  while  they  extend  to  the  every  day 
enjoyments  of  every  member  of  a  civilized  community. 
Geology  and  mineralogy,  under  the  guidance  of  a  sound 
philosophy,  have  awakened  a  kindred  interest  in  the  mind 
of  intellectual  man,  and  the  inmost  recesses  and  profoundest 
depths  of  the  earth  are  explored,  to  beautify  and  adorn  its 
exterior. 

Nor  is  this  enlargement  of  the  boundaries  of  science  the 
only  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  times  in  which  we  live. 
The  height  to  which  it  has  been  carried,  is  not  more  striking 
than  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  spread.  The  breadth 
of  the  foundation  bears  a  fair  proportion  to  the  towering 
elevation  of  the  edifice.  The  loftiest  intellects  and  the  most 
profound  acquirements  have  been  devoted  as  well  to  smooth 
the  ascent  up  the  road  they  have  journeyed,  as  to  push 
forward  into  new  paths  of  exploration.  In  every  department 
of  science  the  elementary  treatises  and  modes  of  instruction, 
which  are  designed  to  open  the  portals  within  which  its 
mysteries  are  enshrined,  have  become  numerous  and  per- 
spicuous beyond  all  former  example.  Facilities  for  acquiring 
the  fundamental  principles  of  every  science,  are  accessible  to 
each  member  of  the  community.    Instead  of  being  enshrouded 


23 

will) in  the  recesses  of  a  cloister,  or  the  profound  seclusion  of 
a  College,  philosophy  now  walks  abroad  ;  she  holds  up  the 
page  of  knowledge  to  each  individual,  and  points  out  to 
him,  in  every  object  which  surrounds  him,  the  means  of 
improvement.  The  great  ends  of  education  are  better 
comprehended,  and  the  means  more  skilfully  applied.  The 
mere  acquisition  of  ideas  from  the  exterior  world,  is  without' 
value.  The  mind  into  which  the  stream  of  knowledge  is 
poured,  must  be  fertilized  by  its  living  waters,  or  they  will 
prove  of  little  worth.  The  opinions  of  others,  and  the  facts 
which  are  accumulated,  must  be  the  instruments  with  which, 
and  the  elements  upon  which,  it  exercises  its  own  faculties — 
its  powers  of  analysis  and  combination,  comparison  and 
judgment.  There  must,  exist  an  animating  and  informing 
spirit,  which  shall  bring  together  the  crude  materials — reduce 
them  to  symmetry — arrange  them  into  order,  and  breathe 
into  them  a  living  soul. 

Il  cannot  escape  the  notice  of  any  observer  of  the  present 
situation  of  the  scientific  and  literary  world,  that  the  character 
of  modern  improvement  is  intimately  connected  with  practical 
utility.  The  mind  of  man  has  not  been  enriched  with  any 
new  faculties;  it  has  been  not  so  much  strengthened  and 
invigorated  as  it  has  received  a  new  direction.  The  studies 
which  were  calculated  merely  to  gratify  a  vain  curiosity — to 
call  into  exercise  the  powers  of  a  refining  and  scholastic 
subtlety,  which  had  no  connexion  with  the  permanent  good 
of  the  species — have  fallen  into  desuetude.  If  we  contrast 
the  subjects  about  which  men  were  curious  and  inquisitive 
during  the  middle  ages,  with  those  which  now  engage  their 
attention,    we  shall  plainly   perceive  that   to   the  diversity 


24 

between  the  objects  of  their  pursuit  and  to  their  different 
modes  of  philosophising,  may  be  traced  much  of  what 
distinguishes  the  one  era  from  the  other.  At  the  earlier 
period,  the  inductive  philosophy  was  unknown.  The  mind 
was  incessantly  upon  the  rack,  in  speculations  which  exercised 
its  ingenuity  in  metaphysical  refinements,  but  which  produced 
no  practical  or  beneficial  result.  In  such  employments, 
miscalled  philosophical,  the  distinctive  characteristic  of  man 
was  lost;  no  individual  was  aided  in  his  progress  by  the 
advances  which  his  contemporaries  had  made  ;  no  generation 
smoothed  the  path  of  its  successor.  All  movement  was 
personal,  and  discoveries  which  modern  times  have  applied 
to  useful  purposes,  were  neglected  and  contemned  when  they 
lay  insulated  and  disjoined. 

Under  the  guidance  of  a  sound  philosophy,  every  step 
which  each  individual  makes,  facilitates  the  general  advance. 
Every  augmentation  of  knowledge  is  a  contribution  to  a 
common  stock.  Each  generation  comes  as  it  were  by 
inheritance  into  the  possession  of  this  rich  accumulation  of 
preceding  centuries,  and  bequeaths  it,  not  merely  unimpaired, 
but  essentially  increased  in  value,  to  those  who  are  to  come 
after.  Such  is  the  character  of  genuine  philosophy  ; — such 
is  its  character  in  the  present  age.  In  discharging  the  high 
obligations  thus  conferred  upon  us,  every  aim  should  be 
directed  to  the  useful— the  practically — the  essentially  useful. 
Every  vista  in  the  ample  domain  of  science  should  lead  to  a 
temple  dedicated  to  the  benefit  of  man. 

Upon  a  superficial  view,  danger  might  be  apprehended, 
lest  in  the  exclusive  search  after  what  is  merely  useful,  much 
that  is  glorious  and   ennobling  should   be  overlooked.      If 


25 

such  an  anticipation  ever  existed,  experience  and  a  close 
observation  must  dissipate  the  groundless  fear.  An  enlarged 
and  liberal  view  has  been  taken  of  the  matter  : — a  philoso- 
phical and  comprehensive  survey  has  been  made  of  the 
whole  field  of  science.  Immediate  and  obvious  good  has  not 
alone  been  sought.  The  intimate  connexion  which  subsists 
between  the  different  objects  of  intellectual  pursuit — even  those 
at  first  view  the  most  widely  separated — has  been  explored 
and  exhibited.  The  golden  chain  has  been  traced,  which 
binds  together,  in  one  harmonious  whole,  the  entire  circle  of 
the  sciences,  causing  them  to  revolve  with  perfect  regularity 
round  the  fixed  centre  of  truth.  It  has  been  perceived 
and  felt,  and  acknowledged,  that  they  are  not  insulated  and 
disconnected,  but  that  they  constitute  parts  of  one  magnificent 
and  entire  system,  mutually  contributing  to  each  other's 
orderly  movements,  and  mutually  receiving  andc  ommunica- 
ting  light  and  heat.  The  graces  of  a  beautiful  literature,  the 
coruscations  of  genius,  and  the  refinements  of  taste,  are 
appreciated,  not  merely  as  ornamental  embellishments,  but 
as  useful  adjuncts,  and  even  necessary  appendages.  Taking 
an  extensive  view  of  man,  his  capacities  and  his  faculties, 
looking  to  the  sources  of  his  purest  enjoyments,  and  the 
foundations  of  his  substantial  happiness,  every  thing  which 
has  a  tendency  to  enlarge  his  powers — to  elevate  his 
conceptions— to  purify  and  refine  his  taste,  or  to  augment 
the  number  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  pleasures,  is 
deserving  of  that  degree  of  his  attention  to  which  its 
comparative  influence,  in  the  accomplishment  of  these  ends, 
entitles  it. 

In  the  scientific  world  the  minute  subdivisions  of  labor  are 

D 


86 

no  longer  the  objects  of  scrupulous  vigilance.  In  the  purely 
mechanical  employments  they  have  been  found  eminently 
useful,  if  not  essentially  necessary.  Even  there,  however, 
they  have  a  tendency  to  cramp  the  mind,  and  to  reduce  its 
naturally  gigantic  and  expansive  powers  within  the  narrow 
limits,  and  submit  it  to  the  enfeebling  regulations  of  mere 
machinery.  Such  tendencies  are  wholly  at  war  with  the 
very  genius  of  philosophy.  By  that  we  are  taught  that 
there  is  a  lofty  and  spacious  dome,  of  which  the  various 
sciences  are  the  supporting  columns,  which  partakes  of  the 
strength  and  of  the  character  which  each  communicates. 
The  magnificent  truth  which  Bacon  promulgated,  is  now 
universally  recognized.  "Prospectationes  fiunt  a  turribus  aut 
locis  prsealtis,  et  impossibile  est  ut  quis  exploret  remotiores  inte- 
rioresque  scientiee  alicujus  partes,  si  stet  super  piano  ejusdem 
scientiee,  neque  altioris  sciential  veluti  speculum  conscendat." 
In  taking  even  this  rapid  and  necessarily  very  imperfect 
view  of  the  present  state  of  the  scientific  world,  the  induce- 
ments and  facilities  which  it  holds  out  to  increased  exertion  to 
promote  its  cause,  and  the  hopes  which  it  furnishes  of  its 
future  prosperity,  it  would  be  unpardonable  before  such  an 
audience  and  upon  this  theatre,  to  omit  to  notice  the 
intimate  connexion  which  subsists  between  the  progress  of 
the  human  mind  and  the  advancement  in  political  privileges. 
The  great  ruling  power  to  which  men  submit,  and  before 
which  monarchs  are  compelled  to  bow,  is  public  opinion. 
In  proportion  as  men  advance  in  knowledge, — in  pro- 
portion as  that  knowledge  is  disseminated,  the  conduct  of 
rulers  is  subjected  to  a  more  jealous  scrutiny;  the  rights 
of  individuals  are  more  thoroughly  understood,  and  more 


27 

assiduously  watched,  and  as  public  opinion  becomes  move 
enlightened  it  becomes  more  efficient.  Every  improvement 
of  intellect — every  increase  in  the  dissemination  of  intelligence, 
enlarges  the  influence  which  public  opinion  exercises  over 
those  transactions  which  affect  communities,  and  over  the 
individuals  who  control  the  interests  of  nations.  Men  act 
upon  a  loftier  stage  and  in  a  broader  theatre.  The  eyes  of 
the  reflecting  and  intelligent  portion  of  mankind  are  upon 
them,  to  scan  their  actions  and  to  scrutinize  their  conduct. 
A  judgment  as  sure  and  as  just  as  that  which  was  pronounced 
over  the  graves  of  the  monarchs  of  Egypt,  now  proclaims 
the  meed  of  praise  or  censure  which  an  impartial  public 
opinion  has  awarded  to  living  men.  No  despot  is  so  shrouded 
within  the  recesses  of  his  palace,  but  that  this  public  opinion 
will  make  itself  heard;  none  so  ensconced  behind  his  battle- 
ments, or  surrounded  by  his  mercenaries,  but  that  it  will 
make  itself  obeyed. 

The  principles  thus  brought  into  action  are  in  rapid 
progress  throughout  the  world.  In  Great  Britain,  they  serve 
as  the  only  basis  upon  which  their  entire  institutions  rest. 
The  turrets  of  feudal  tyranny  are  mouldering  into  dust — the 
stupendous  buttresses  which  had  been  erected  to  sustain  the 
monarch — the  hierarchy  and  the  nobility,  already  require 
extraneous  supports  to  preserve  them  from  falling  into  utter 
dilapidation.  France,  during  the  last  half  century,  has  coursed 
the  rounds  of  rude  and  desultory  efforts  to  incorporate  freedom 
into  her  institutions,  and  must  fail  in  every  attempt,  until  she 
can  succeed  in  establishing  the  only  solid  foundation  of  every 
free  government,  an  enlightened  public  opinion.  Prussia  and 
Germany  appear  to  be  smothering  with  ashes  the  inextin- 


28 

guishable  sparks  of  liberty  ;  and  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  and 
the  Mediterranean  have  witnessed  the  convulsive  throes 
which  presage  the  tremendous  struggle  in  which  public 
opinion  is  to  strive  for  the  mastery.  The  same  mighty 
power  has  effected  a  lodgment  in  the  strong  holds  of  the 
Moslem ;  it  is  now  operating  within  the  walls  of  Constanti- 
nople, and  Egypt  has  recognised  the  existence  and  the 
influence  of  this  potent  engine. 

In  all  these  countries,  public  opinion,  however  crude  in  its 
character,  and  wrong  in  its  conceptions,  is  in  advance  of 
the  government,  and  has  assumed  an  attitude  hostile  to 
existing  institutions.  The  rulers  are  aware  of  the  dangers 
which  menace  them,  and  are  striving  to  strangle  this  infant 
Hercules  in  his  cradle.  But  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
have  been  broken  up — the  elements  ol  knowledge  have  been 
too  widely  scattered  to  be  exterminated,  and  while  they  retain 
the  vital  energy  with  which  they  are  imbued,  they  will  strike 
their  roots  into  every  rock,  and  spring  up  in  luxuriant  growth 
in  every  valley,  where  the  winds  of  heaven  may  waft  them. 
The  overwhelming  power  of  an  armed  despot  may  here  and 
there  crush  the  efforts  of  men  determined  to  be  free,  but 
experience  will  sooner  or  later  teach  them  that  the  stream  of 
liberty,  though  compelled  to  hide  itself  for  a  time  in  one 
region,  yet,  like  the  fabled  fountain  of  Arethusa,  will  pour 
forth  its  waters  with  renovated  vigor  and  pristine  purity  in 
another. 

In  this  blessed  country,  no  such  strugle  awaits  us.  We 
have  long  been  in  the  actual  fruition  of  entire  freedom.  That 
public  opinion,  which  is,  in  less  favored  climes,  the  most 
dangerous  foe  of  existing  institutions,  is  the  cherished  friend 


29 

and  powerful  auxiliary  of  our  own.  That  improvement  in 
science,  that  diffusion  of  knowledge  which  are  elsewhere 
regarded  with  jealousy  and  distrust,  are  here  stimulated  and 
encouraged  by  every  motive  which  can  rouse  men  and 
patriots  to  exertion.  In  Europe,  we  have  seen  royal  decrees 
interdicting  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge ; — here  the 
public  treasure  is,  as  a  measure  of  permanent  policy,  appro- 
priated to  its  furtherance.  Throughout  the  old  world,  the 
influence  of  enlightened  intelligence  tends  to  demolish  or 
reform  the  frame  of  government; — here  it  is  united  and 
active  to  sustain  the  fabric  of  our  free  institutions.  Upon  us 
has  devolved  the  high  and  responsible  duty  of  preserving 
that  constitution  and  that  liberty,  which  we  deem  insepara- 
ble ;  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  which,  all  participate.  If  the 
galling  yoke  of  servitude  disqualifies  men  for  freedom,  let  it 
not  be  said — and  our  history  vouched  to  sustain  the  assertion 
— that  liberty  only  makes  them  fit  for  slavery.  If,  in  other 
countries,  the  strong  arm  of  power  is  constantly  on  the  alert  to 
restrain  the  energies  of  man — to  close  the  door  to  his  improve- 
ment— to  bind  his  mind  in  fetters — here,  where  our  course  is 
free,  and  our  march  unrestrained — let  it  be  made  apparent,  that 
if  a  competent  degree  of  intelligence  is  essential  to  the  proper 
use  of  liberty,  this  necessary  aliment  is  the  spontaneous 
growth  of  free  institutions.  If,  in  the  old  world,  under  every 
discouragement,  individuals  will  devote  themselves  to  the 
cultivation  of  letters — prompted  to  the  task  by  a  desire  to 
find  a  support  for  their  youth,  a  comfort  for  their  declining 
age,  an  embellishment  for  their  prosperous  fortunes,  and  a 
solace  in  their  adversity — let  us,  while  not  unmindful  of  these 
motives  for  cherishing  them,   regard  them  with  additional 


30 

favor  as   the   sacred   palladium   whose   presence   furnishes 
ample  security  to  our  country's  citadel. 

The  essential  principle  upon  which  our  government  rests, 
that  which  distinguishes  it  from  all  which  have  preceded  it, 
is,  that  the  people  possess  the  right  and  enjoy  the  power  of 
forming  their  own  judgment  upon  all  measures  of  public 
policy,  and  of  selecting  objects  of  their  own  choice  for 
the  management  of  their  affairs.  The  legislative  and 
executive  departments  are  but  the  exponents  of  the  general 
will,  and  the  enactment  of  laws  is  but  the  clothing  the 
same  expression  in  proper  form,  and  attaching  to  it  specific 
sanctions.  If  the  depositaries  of  public  confidence  were  of 
themselves  to  administer  the  powers  with  which  the  nation 
is  invested ;  were  they  to  be  able  to  wield  a  force  which 
could  command  submission  to  their  measures,  it  would  soon 
be  discovered  that  the  power  of  removing  such  as  might 
prove  unfaithful,  was  an  empty  shadow,  and  the  ballot  box 
an  idle  bubble.  Public  opinion  is  the  only  controlling  influ- 
ence known  in  our  country :  no  law  can  be  enforced,  no 
measure  persevered  in,  contrary  to  its  dictates,  or  independently 
of  its  sanction.  The  whole  executive  power  would  be  feeble 
without  its  aid,  and  the  judiciary  could  not  execute  a  single 
judgment  if  deprived  of  its  support. 

Under  such  institutions,  those  who  are  chosen  by  the  people, 
to  fill  stations  of  dignity  and  power,  are  usually  selected  in 
consequence  of  a  real  or  supposed  congeniality  of  character, 
sympathy  of  feeling,  and  identity  of  principle,  between  them 
and  their  constituents.  They  not  merely  represent  the  wishes, 
but  they  may  be  regarded  as  an  accurate  standard  by  which 
to  measure  the  virtue  and  intelligence  which  exist  among  the 


31 

people.  The  higher  the  latter  are  elevated  in  intellect,  and 
the  more  thoroughly  they  are  imbued  with  sound  principle?, 
the  loftier  will  be  the  grade  of  qualification  exacted  of  such 
as  present  themselves  as  candidates  for  public  favor. 

These  considerations  open  an  ample  field  for  calm  and 
deliberate  reflection,  which  our  limited  time  forbids  us  to 
explore.  The  jealous  character  of  the  American  people  has 
wisely  induced  them  to  avoid  standing  armies  of  hired  mer- 
cenaries, or  to  raise  up  a  distinct  and  separate  class  in  the 
community  to  defend  us  against  foreign  aggression.  Every 
citizen  is  inured  to  the  use  of  arms;  in  the  individual  valor 
of  our  countrymen  we  repose  our  principal  security,  as  the 
military  defence  of  the  nation.  How  infinitely  more  impor- 
tant a  safeguard  may  they  be  rendered  against  the  dangers 
which  menace  all  free  governments,  if  furnished  with  the  arms 
of  political  warfare,  and  skilled  by  experience  in  their  use. 
These  arms  are  supplied  by  education ;  every  citizen  entitled 
to  exercise  the  elective  franchise,  should  be  trained  to  their 
employment,  and  habituated  to  canvass  the  measures  of  the 
government,  in  all  its  departments,  with  the  circumspection 
which  duty  demands,  and  with  the  freedom  that  becomes 
enlightened  and  intelligent  votaries  of  liberty. 

Imperfect  and  inaccurate  estimates  of  these  important 
and  vital  duties,  are  not  less  to  be  deprecated  than  entire 
ignorance.  More  is  required  for  their  faithful  and  beneficial 
fulfilment,  than  mere  intellectual  improvement.  Acuteness 
of  mind,  and  a  vigilant  regard  to  public  affairs,  will  not 
always  render  a  man  a  more  valuable  citizen.  It  is  far 
more  essential  that  he  should  possess  sound  and  virtuous 
principles.     To  confer  intelligence  upon  a  vicious  man,  only 


32 

renders  him  more  dangerous  to  the  community.  Knowledge 
is  power ;  but  it  is  a  power  which  may  be  wielded  either  as  a 
blessing  or  a  curse,  accordingly  as  it  is  directed  by  virtue  or 
by  vice.  Artful  demagogues  may  mislead  an  ignorant  popu- 
lace ;  a  corrupt  one  is  already  a  fit  tool  for  their  incendiary 
plans :  a  virtuous  people,  instructed  in  its  rights,  is  secure 
against  their  deleterious  influence.  The  welfare  of  nations  is 
far  more  closely  connected  with  the  general  dissemination  of 
sound  principles  of  action,  than  with  the  advancement  of 
mere  intelligence.  It  has  too  frequently  happened,  that  ages 
and  countries,  most  distinguished  for  intellectual  vigor  and 
refinement,  have  been  disgraced  by  the  most  open  and 
undisguised  licentiousness  of  manners;  but  history  furnishes 
no  example  of  a  people  being  deprived  of  freedom,  until  vice 
and  corruption  had  betrayed  its  essential  defences,  and  opened 
the  gates  for  the  invasion  of  the  foreign  foe. 

It  has  been  profoundly  and  judiciously  remarked,  that  the 
only  accurate  knowledge  which  man  possesses,  of  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  has  been  derived  from  the  previous  knowledge 
which  he  had  acquired  of  the  phenomena  of  the  stars  ;  with 
at  least  equal  truth,  may  it  be  affirmed  that  all  the  correct 
information  which  he  has  of  his  duties  to  himself — his  family 
— his  country,  and  his  species,  has  been  derived  from  light 
communicated  from  heaven. 

Every  page  of  history  illustrates  the  connexion  which  a 
wise  Providence  has  established  between  private  virtue  and 
national  prosperity.  The  great  stream  of  modern  improve- 
ment may  be  traced  back  to  the  christian  religion  as  its 
principal  source.  That  religion  has  breathed  its  benignant 
spirit  into  the  code  of  international  law,  and  ameliorated, 


33 

where  it  has  not  exterminated,  the  barbarous  and  cruel 
practices  of  war  which  offended  humanity.  It  has  controlled 
the  evil  propensities  of  tyrants,  and  mitigated  the  oppression 
of  despotism.  It  has  calmed  the  excited  passions  of  the 
multitude  when  roused  to  vindicate  their  rights;  and  to 
its  benign  influence  may  be  attributed  the  extraordinary 
spectacles,  which  modern  and  christian  countries  have  alone 
exhibited,  of  revolutions  accomplished  without  murder,  and 
civil  wars  waged  without  a  massacre.  It  has  contributed 
to  foster  a  bold  and  undaunted  spirit  of  independence — a 
determined  and  resolute  resistance  to  tyranny  in  all  its  shapes. 
It  has  rendered  men  better  qualified  to  enjoy  freedom  when 
acquired,  and  more  zealous  to  defend  it  with  energy  when 
assailed.  It  has  equally  contributed  to  purify  and  enlighten 
public  opinion,  and  to  confer  upon  it  that  paramount  influence 
which  it  now  possesses.  All  its  tendencies,  when  not  swayed 
by  the  corrupting  passions  of  men,  are  salutary  and  invigora- 
ting. The  very  origin  of  Christianity,  its  vital  and  pervading 
principle,  is  unbounded  love  to  man ;  its  most  conspicuous 
event  was  proclaimed  from  heaven,  amid  the  shouts  of 
angels,  announcing  this  as  its  end  and  object,  and  its  fruits 
are  the  advancement  of  human  happiness  in  its  most  com- 
prehensive and  elevated  signification. 

The  venerable  institution  with  which  we  are  connected, 
owed  its  establishment  to  the  philanthrophical  views  of  its 
founders.  The  influence  of  religion  was  its  origin — the 
benefit  of  man  its  aim.  The  fathers  of  our  country  perceived 
and  acknowledged,  that  to  heaven  they  looked  for  succor 
and  support  in  every  kind  of  peril  and  of  difficulty  ;  and 
with  pious  confidence  they  invoked  its  blessings  upon  all 


their  great  undertakings.  These  eminent  examples  arc 
worthy  of  our  humble  imitation.  We  may  rest  assured  that 
when  religious  education  shall  become  universally  diffused 
throughout  our  land — when  every  citizen  of  this  great  nation 
shall  be  instructed  in  the  pure  and  unadulterated  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  the  American  people  may  well  deem  themselves 
equally  and  effectually  secured,  against  foreign  aggression 
and  domestic  convulsion.  The  same  Being  who  made,  will 
preserve  us  a  nation.  Our  free  institutions  will  rest  upon 
the  rock  of  ages— a  foundation  which  can  never  fail — and 
our  countrymen  will  prove  themselves  eminently  worthy 
of  the  many  and  inestimable  blessings,  which  have  been 
showered  upon  them  by  a  beneficent  Providence. 


LB2325.L77 

Obituary  addresses  delivered  on  the 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1       1    1012  00085  2162 


